


Bait And Switch

by SASundance



Series: Partners [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s06e02 Agent Afloat, Gen, Secrets, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 06:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3886678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SASundance/pseuds/SASundance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old enemy of Tony's is free and out for blood so Director Vance lends him out to the FBI  to help capture the escapee. Of course things don't go to plan and forbidden by Vance from revealing his mission to the rest of his team, Tony needs help and fast. Luckily, ten years ago he planned for just such a eventuality even if he hoped it wouldn't be necessary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bait And Switch

**Author's Note:**

> This is another story that was originally posted on FF.net which I am gradually posting here too.
> 
> It started out a one shot from the Agent Anthony Afloat series that explored AU explanations for Tony's deployment as Agent Afloat following Jenny Shepard's death. Since this last one shot ended up being the basis for a multi-chapter sequel I chose to repost it as a separate story. It was Beta'ed by my awesome friend Arress who also came up with the idea for this story. I hope you enjoy competent Tony plus a bonus scene from its sequel entitled 'Rising to the Bait. It picks up several months on from where this story ends and continues through season six.
> 
> Just to clarify, I have tweaked canon so that the events referred to in this story occurred during Tony's time in Philadelphia not Baltimore. Frankly, because there has been so much retcon about Tony's time in Baltimore that if it was all correct he would have to have been working there at least six years instead of two.
> 
> Disclaimer: NCIS doesn't belong to me but I do borrow the characters from time to time and let them play with mine. Unfortunately I make no money from this obsession.

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo sifted through the meagre contents of his refrigerator. There wasn't a lot to be disposed of because following the disastrous trip to California and the fallout from Director Shepard's death, he hadn't been home enough to eat anything let alone go grocery shopping. A half a dozen eggs, some spoilt milk, some rubbery looking carrots and some tomatoes that were sporting facial hair were the rather sad sum total of the contents of his fridge. He was trying to decide whether to give the eggs to his elderly neighbour across the way or use them to make an omelette for dinner, and opted for plan A since he had nothing to put in an omelette. As he put the eggs on the kitchen counter, he heard a heavy pounding on the door.

Wiping his hands on a dishtowel he opened the door expecting to find Gibbs on the other side of the door from the impatient pounding, although he had a key to Tony's apartment. So it was a shock to find the three individuals who were standing there together. Raising an eyebrow, he quipped bitterly.

"So gentlemen, you here to arrest me for murder again? Who has framed me this time?"

FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell smirked, while his partner Ron Sacks scowled and the new director of NCIS regarded him distastefully.

"We must speak to you as a matter of urgency, Special Agent DiNozzo," he stated, somehow making his name sound like crap that was on the bottom of his expensive shoes. "May we come in?"

Making the request sound like anything but, and he pushed past Tony before he could refuse. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he was checking out Tony's apartment and appeared shocked by the neatness and elegance. Tony felt his temper rise, surely if Vance had the slightest perceptive bone in his body, he would observe that Tony had an innate sense of style and was meticulous with his personal grooming and wardrobe, was it such a stretch to expect that he might be just as fussy about his personal space as well?

Director Vance obviously decided to cut through the social niceties, and for that Tony was extremely grateful. There was no love lost between them and he wasn't thrilled at having him and the Fibbies in his inner sanctum, especially that sanctimonious bastard Slacks.

"There has been a change to your orders, Special Agent DiNozzo." But before Tony could dare to hope that Gibbs had managed to perform a miracle and get him out of the dreaded Agent Afloat deployment, Vance continued. "You are now under protective custody until further notice. Furthermore, this is need to know and I am giving you direct orders not to divulge this information to anyone at NCIS. As far as everyone is concerned, you are Agent Afloat aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. Do I make myself clear?"

"Not so much, Director. Why am I in protective custody? And why do I not have a say about whether I even want protection? I can look after myself."

Tony was starting to feel pissed off, not just with the FBI turning up on his doorstep, but with Vance for banishing him for following orders. Did he really think that punishing him by sending him off to sea was going to make him feel any worse than he already did over Jenny's death? At one time he considered her to be a friend before she had put her own personal agenda before the good of the agency, and left his six hanging in the wind without any backup. Now, he was expected to suck it up like a gormless chump, and he'd already his fill with Jenny and being kept in the dark. He was damned if he would take it from Vance.

Fornell leapt into the breech before Tony and Vance could step it up. The animosity between the pair was palpable.

"Mike Macaluso bribed two prison guards and escaped from prison yesterday, Tony. His son, Luca, was killed in a suspicious MVA a few days ago, and after he deals with his family matters we are expecting him to make good on his threats to you. You know, of course, that his eldest son, Marco, was killed in a prison fight last year and that Luca was being anointed to take over when he finished college? Mike blames you for Marco's death, no surprise there and, of course, there's the minor matter of the collapse of his empire and sending him to jail. You and I both know his promise to kill you isn't an empty threat. It's personal because you managed to earn his trust and get so close to his family. He's waited a long time, but as you know, the Family never forgets."

"Thanks, Fornell, but if you are worried about my ass, wouldn't it make sense to be on the Reagan out in the middle of the Atlantic? Oh wait, we all know that's not what this is about. If Mike can't get to me himself and watch me draw my last breath, he's going to go to ground, maybe pick up the reins of the family business again, and wouldn't that be embarrassing to our politicians? So, that would make me the bait. Let's all call a spade a spade, gentlemen."

Vance scowled. "DiNozzo, you have your orders. It has been decided that the apprehension of this criminal is paramount and Sec Nav has approved your temporary secondment to the FBI until he has been apprehended. You are not to have contact with any of your former team mates. They are all going to be involved in a matter of national security and I don't want them distracted by your situation. It could be quite dangerous for any of them to lose focus if they were aware of your circumstances. I understand, however, that you may need to maintain electronic contact with them, particularly Ms. Sciuto, but you must ensure that no hint of this operation is divulged. Are we clear?"

"Oh, yeah, Director Vance. Waterford clear." Tony read the subtext from the new director. You aren't a valuable enough asset to permit the MCRT to watch your six or to help in the National Security investigation, so you are being hung out to dry. Bet you won't be throwing yourself on my coffin sobbing if this op goes belly up either.

Bait and Switch

It had been three days since Tony had been ordered into the protective custody of the FBI and he was climbing the walls, and making sure that he drove his protection detail crazy, too. The way he figured it, distraction was his only form of entertainment, and it would keep him from missing his team so much, but also it would distract the Fibbies from what he was up to and make it easier to act if he needed to. He may not have Gibbs' awesome gut, but he had a fair bit of faith in his own intuition and it was telling him that there was something hinky going on and not to trust the agents or what they had told him.

He pissed them off with demands to read the reports of the investigation into Macaluso's breakout, and all the reports of the search for him now that he was free. The Philadelphia PD was on high alert and following up any suspected lead no matter how tenuous, but so far they had no confirmed sightings. Tony knew that Macaluso was a tough customer and wouldn't go back without a fight, and he figured that the FBI knew it and was counting on his elephant like memory and oath for vengeance against Tony would prove to be his Achilles' heel that would ultimately trip him up. So, it made no sense to hide him away in a safe house, and Tony felt like he was being treated like a mushroom by all concerned…kept in the dark and fed a whole lotta crap.

Tony had prodded, pushed, interrogated and insulted Fornell about being the cheese in the proverbial mouse trap, but Fornell was insistent that that wasn't the case. Tony was almost certain that he wasn't lying to him, but every time he started in on him, Slacks would start to squirm. Nothing overt, but to someone like Tony who was so observant about overt nonverbal body cues, which had saved his skin when working undercover countless times, it was still disturbing. He just wasn't sure if it was because Very Ordinary Agent Slacks thought that it wasn't worth protecting a murderer –he'd made it plain that he still believed that Tony had killed Rene Benoit- or because he'd pushed for Tony to be the goat staked to a tether. What was clear was that Fornell had overruled the junior agent and he wasn't a happy camper.

Tony wasn't happy either and he was paying attention to the protection team and their routine so he could give them slip as soon as possible. He wasn't going to let them put him under glass like some damned hot house orchid because if anyone had a chance of finding Macaluso it was him, and he was going to go on the attack instead of sitting around passively waiting for something to break. Gibbs always said that he did his best work solo, and although in this particular situation he'd rather have the team watching his six, that simply wasn't going to happen.

Still, after working for 18 months in Philly, he had a pretty impressive network of assets he could use, not to mention entre into the Macaluso clan. All he needed was to visit the bank and retrieve his emergency documents and cash from the safe deposit box, and then he'd disappear and resurface in Philly. It had been a while since he'd had a soft pretzel or a cheesesteak, and while Fornell would be pissed when he ditched them, he'd get over it…maybe!

Not only did he feel safer watching his own six, he'd be damned if he was going to endanger other agents' lives if he could help it. Then there was the fact that the Macaluso's had fingers in way too many pies. That included the FBI, he had no doubt.

Bait and Switch

Tony pressed down on the haemorrhaging gunshot wound with a towel, trying to staunch the blood loss from Fornell's thigh, concerned that the bullet had hit an artery due to the volume. He'd waited too long to try and slip away; he should have gone yesterday. Macaluso had sent four goons who were all dead, but so was one of the FBI protection detail, as well as Tobias getting shot. Tony had shot Fornell's shooter, so the shot that had been intended to sever Tobias' aorta had gone wide and lodged in his leg instead. Tony was glad he'd resisted the Fibbie's attempt to separate him from his service piece, although now it was going to be seized as evidence, but he also had his back-up piece as well. Luckily, he had numerous back up, well backups, secreted around DC, and he would retrieve a few when he picked up his cash and new identity documents. It was more imperative than ever that he go on the offensive, and he would slip out when the EMTs and crime scene guys arrived.

'Very Ordinary Slacks' or VOS would be preoccupied and it was the perfect time to give him the slip. In fact, said agent appeared to be in shock. He was apologising to Fornell, mumbling that this wasn't supposed to happen. Although Tobias was in pain and looking shocky, he was still well and truly aware and obviously wanting to say something for Tony's ears only. Tony ordered Sacks to get some blankets and the first aid kit while he maintained strong pressure on Fornell's wound.

"It seems as if we've both been betrayed, DiNotzo. I refused to let you be set up as the sacrificial lamb for the slaughter, but it looks as if Sacks has conspired against me and set it up anyway. I'm going kill him when I get this damn bullet outta my leg! I had no idea; I'm sorry. Ya need to get out of here and take off for a while, go to ground like only you can do. I'm going to be off the grid for a few days, but contact me later in the week and we'll make plans."

Tony was touched. He didn't expect Fornell to apologise, especially since his contemporary believed it was sign of weakness, although it sure felt like balm to his soul, but he could read the cynicism and pain on Toby's face even if he didn't know him well. It was the same emotion he'd experienced when he found out Jenny had exploited him with Jeanne and Rene Benoit with no regard to his physical or emotional welfare. He appreciated Tobias' advice and he wasn't going to disavow him of the notion that he was going to ground.

Maculuso was too smart for the FBI. They'd been after him for years before Tony had managed to worm his way into the organisation, and then later into his family, and if anyone could get to him again, it was the former undercover cop. But he wasn't going to worry Fornell when he had to face surgery; it wasn't as if he could do anything anyway. Tony would call him later in the week to make sure he was okay.

"Yeah, was thinking the same thing, Fornell. It's about to get real busy soon and that'll give me good cover to give 'Very Ordinary Slacks' the slip." Tony grinned at the thought of getting one up on the FBI agent. He was going to be so majorly pissed off.

Tobias' junior partner joined them with blankets and the first aid kit and Tony directed him to elevate Fornell's leg while he continued to maintain pressure on the wound, and then ordered VOS to wrap Tobias in several blankets to keep him warm and prevent him slipping further into shock.

Ron Sacks looked shattered and Tobias took the opportunity to exploit his anguish, and at the same time distract himself from the fact his leg felt like it was about to fall off.

"So, Sacks, ya went and leaked our location, didn't ya? Who authorised it, so I can tell Jones' wife and kids who's responsible for his death? Hell, Emily came this close to being fatherless, too, except for DiNotzo here. Who was the bastard you went over my head to?"

"C'mon, Fornell, I was following Associate Director Caldwell's orders. I never thought this was gonna happen."

"Maybe not, Ron, but you were damned gung-ho with wanting to use Special Agent DiNotzo as bait without reading him in. Well known you don't like him and still believe he killed Rene Benoit, so you weren't exactly fussed about watching his six. Should never have let ya in on the op…"

While he hadn't finished reaming out his agent, the EMTs had arrived and were assessing Fornell's condition and stabilising him for transport to hospital. They swiftly applied a pressure bandage to stop him from bleeding out and Tony collapsed, exhausted from the combination of his effort of keeping pressure on the wound and the bleeding off of adrenaline following the fire fight. He tried to ignore Special Agent Bernie Jones lying a few feet away with the back of his head blown away, although he couldn't help but feel responsible for the guy's death.

Damn Caldwell and Sacks. He would have agreed to be the bait in their trap if they'd just asked him, and he could have helped figure out a better trap. Hell, he had a better trap damn it, but they weren't going to be read in on it now. Were they that stupid that they thought Macaluso would risk coming for him personally when he had a bunch of thugs that could grab him and take him to Macaluso? The sooner he got away from these keystone cops the better.

Bait and Switch

Tony strapped on his helmet and mounted the Kawasaki 750 motorcycle he had paid cash for at a nondescript second-hand dealer. He'd chosen the bike over a car because it was far more mobile and could be used to for a quick get away, and was handy for preventing anyone tailing him effectively. It would also be much more likely for anyone looking for him to be searching for a car, simply because no one knew he rode a motorcycle. It was another skill he preferred to keep under wraps because the less data that was on record, the harder it was for people to find him when he was hiding out.

He had made a couple of phone calls and had booked into two up-market hotels to confuse anyone who might be looking for him. He'd reserved suites in the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel and the Crowne Plaza, booking in under his assumed identity, and was now waiting for his ex-partner, Jessie Lawless, to meet him. She was flying in from out of town, so he knew that it would be a while. He decided to order a cheesesteak and coffee because it had been a long time since he'd indulged in an authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak. Perhaps it was the ambiance of the city, but they never tasted as good anywhere else.

Although he'd had to leave Philly in a hurry after the crapola hit the fan ten years ago, he'd come up with a plan days before leaving with help from his ex-partner. He'd only worked with Jessie for six months when he'd first come to Philly before he'd joined the taskforce trying to bring down the Macaluso Family and then gone undercover, yet he and she had been tight from the get-go and she'd been there for him when he needed her badly at the end.

Jessie had left Philly ten months after he'd been forced to flee, and she'd ended up at Boston PD, but she'd made him promise to call if he ever needed her to carry out the sting they'd conceived. It was in those last few dreadful days before he'd packed up and transferred to Baltimore to escape the Macaluso clan that the pair had hatched their contingency plan, and hoped it would never be needed. Tony had set it all up from Baltimore, and sent her the false ID and enough cash so that when the time came she would be able to act.  
Once Tony had managed to worm his way into the Macaluso household and become accepted as a part of the family, he was privy to all sorts of highly personal information that no one else knew, and that was probably why Mike took his duping so personally and vowed that he'd kill Tony if he ever got out of prison. 

While it was common knowledge that Macaluso had an extensive collection of classic Italian cars, many of them sports cars which included Lamborghinis and Ferraris, some of them worth a king's ransom, Tony was privy to the car that was his pride and joy. When Philly PD finally arrested Macaluso and many of his associates, the FBI had stepped in to seize his assets, which included the classic car collection, and it was summarily auctioned off to the highest bidders. Some buyers were serious classic car aficionados, while others simply thought it would be cool to own a car that had belonged to a powerful Mafia Don.

Some of the classics were customised jobs or rare models, but Tony knew that there was one particular car that meant the world to the powerful and ruthless Don. Contrary to what might be expected from such a major crime figure, he also had a seam of sappy sentimentality coursing through him, because it wasn't the priceless classic Lamborghini that was in pristine condition with less than 1000 miles on the odometer that was his favourite. Tony vividly remembered the first time that Mike had taken him out to his cavernous barn where he housed his prized collection and turned him loose to wander around and look. For someone who had always appreciated classic cars it had been a heady experience, and he'd required no acting ability to admire the Don's stunning collection.

It was then that the head of the most powerful mafia family in Philadelphia decided to share an intimate family secret with the undercover cop. Macaluso led him over to the modest red and black Alfa Romeo 1959 Giulietta Sprint, which was a car that Tony thought was pretty damn cool, but compared to the other cars in Macaluso's possession, it was a rather modest offering. Mike had told him with a catch in his voice how he had courted his future wife, Arianna, in that car and had driven her to a romantic spot after dinner to propose to her. Having lost her in the turf wars with the Carletti Family, the car was even more special to him because of the precious and irreplaceable memories associated with it. Although Tony had dutifully documented this fact along with hundreds of other intimate details he had gleaned about Mike and his extended family, he was not surprised that no one saw the importance of that single piece of information, but when he heard they planned to sell the entire collection, he had known right away.

Tony had hoped that Macaluso and his goons would stay in prison for a very long time, but he was a cynic and he knew that he needed something pretty darned good if he ever needed to hunt and trap Mike. Thus, the contingency plan was borne and Jessie volunteered to purchase the Giulietta Sprint when it came up for auction with the false identity that Tony had obtained for her and money from his modest trust fund his mother left him. Since then, the car had been in storage under the loving care of a trusted colleague with a passion that rivalled Tony's own for classic vehicles. All that they needed to proceed with the trap was to have the Alfa Romeo serviced, detailed and waxed, and Jessie would organise those little details when she arrived, and then grease a few palms and drop a few hints. It was simply a matter of knowing whose ear you needed to whisper into to get to the man, and Tony definitely knew the right ears.

Bait and Switch

Tony saw Jessie when she entered the bar, and so did every other red-blooded male in the place. She was 5 foot 11 and had the physique of an athlete even after ten years, which was how long it had been since he'd seen her before leaving for Baltimore. They used to play plenty of one on one back in the day when they were partners, and she'd been pretty good at landing them. Perhaps not in his league, but then few cops ever were. Still, they had good times and she'd been a hell of a partner watching his back and being there when everything had gone pear shaped. Her willingness to help him now spoke volumes about her character, and Tony felt honoured to count her amongst his friends. She crossed the room and planted an enthusiastic kiss on his cheek before sinking down next to him and picking up his glass and sipping from it.

After spending a few minutes catching up after so many years apart, Tony began reading Jessie in on what had been going on with Macaluso's escape and the laughable attempts by the FBI to use Tony as the bait in their trap.

She snorted inelegantly. "I know you are a Fed now Tone, but Geez Louise, could they get any more stupid or ridiculous? I don't think so."

"No offense taken, Detective Sergeant Lawless," he chuckled. "The Fibbies weren't exactly standing at the front of the queue when they were handing out brains, you know. VOS is an excellent example of that. Seriously, Jess, at this point, Fornell is about the only Fibbie that I trust. Just wait, when we have Mike all trussed up like a turkey and safely caught, they'll swan in and take all the credit. It's really the only thing they excel at!"

"Sure as God made little green apples, T. About as dependable as death and taxes when it comes to stealing other peoples' thunder, but then what can you do, Tony? The bastards know you are keeping a low profile when it comes to Mike Macaluso, although they don't know why, do they?"

"No, Jess, apart from two individuals very high up the food chain. The less people that know, the safer it is. They think it is because my boss is a jerk and doesn't want me ruining a super-secret mission he's directing," Tony sighed.

"Do you ever hear from them, T?"

"Only indirectly, Jess. Sometimes once, occasionally twice a year, someone sends me a photo or two." He tried to prevent his body language revealing how much he was hurting because it was important to keep their secret. After all he'd had years of practice, yet when he thought about them, it was like yesterday when they'd all had to leave.

Bait and Switch

It had taken almost another week to set up the sting properly. They'd listed the car on EBay, had it serviced so it was running like a dream and had it professionally detailed and waxed and it looked like a million dollars. A judiciously dropped hint around certain known associates of Macaluso's and a couple of quarter page ads in the dailies, and they were ready to start the play. Tony had purchased a few burn phones and they started getting a promising nibble from Mike almost immediately.

So, they played him like a violin. Lots of pertinent questions about the car and offers to purchase the car immediately for a good price were forthcoming and Jessie politely refusing, explaining she needed to maximise her profits because she was only selling her 'baby' because she needed an urgent operation. First rule of a con is to not make it seem too easy, or they might spook him.

Tony set up some dummy EBay accounts and started pushing up the bids on the Giulietta Sprint and keep Macaluso anxious about getting his car back again. He was also fanning the flames in the classic cars chat rooms and it was working like they'd planned. The bidding war was driving the price up and Mike was ringing every day and increasing his offers, conditional on it being the car he was looking for which he would need to verify in person, and Tony knew they had him. Jessie and Tony decided to take a break from sitting in front of the computer and visited the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art and then went to an intimate little Italian restaurant for dinner. It was too soon to celebrate, but the former cop and the Boston detective were feeling like the contingency plan they'd formulate a decade ago was going to pay dividends.

They had him on the line, now they just had to reel him in and land him. Once he was safely behind bars, Tony was going to make damned sure he stayed there this time. He wasn't a promising rookie cop anymore, he was a seasoned federal agent with plenty of contacts and people who owed him big favours, and he was going to call in as many favours as it took to keep him in prison. It was time to call in Fornell so he'd be handy to do the mop up operation when Jess and Tony captured the powerful Mafia figure. He'd called him on a burn phone a few days ago to make sure he was okay and to warn him to be ready to go when he gave him the signal.

Fornell had been totally pissed that he hadn't gone to ground as he'd ordered, but Tony cut him off impatiently. He told Tobias that they were almost ready to capture Macaluso and he would need the assistance of the FBI since he couldn't afford to be associated with the arrest, because he was supposed to be on board the Reagan. Given that he didn't trust the Fibbies under the circumstances, he told Fornell that he'd only deal with him, and he gave him the names of his two former contacts at the bureau that would authorise his back up and hush it all up.

Tony pulled out a fresh burn phone after dinner while they waited on coffee and called the grizzled FBI agent. He advised him to get his team ready to fly to Philadelphia and be ready for the final phase of the take down tomorrow afternoon. There were still 36 hours to run on the auction and he was keen to get Macaluso ASAP. He had definitely reached the optimum level of anxiousness to start taking risks, but not desperate enough to be unpredictable. Of course, Tobias wanted to know how they were going to trap him, but there was no way that Tony was risking his sting that had been ten years in the making.

Before hanging up on the frustrated agent, he warned, "Very Ordinary Slacks had better stay in DC, Fornell. If I so much as see a photo of him, I swear I'll flip Vance the bird and hold a press conference myself. Just so we're clear?"

"Waterford!" Tobias smirked, mimicking Tony's flippancy with the NCIS Director a few weeks before. "Actually, I can hardly bear to look at him myself at the moment so I shipped him off to work cold cases in the New York Bureau for a bit. Not sure if we can get past this."

Bait and Switch

It had gone like clockwork. They'd given him a false address to meet in front of and then they were going to take a drive down a riverside park where the Fibbies were already guarding both exits. Macaluso had shown up with just one super tough goon because he was obviously trying to keep a low profile. The other reason was more prosaic; the head of the powerful mafia family had obviously found himself a tame cosmetic surgeon and his money and influence had bought him a new face.

Too bad he wasn't going to get to wear it outside of a prison cell because Tony had no trouble recognising the notorious crime figure. First off, there was the way he'd immediately gone to the two small imperfections that were not apparent to the naked eye to reassure himself that this was indeed the car that he'd courted and proposed to Arianna in. Then there were the flamboyant gestures and mannerisms that Tony would never forget.

They were expecting him to try and purchase the car outright and Jessie would talk up the price a little and then call her boyfriend who had the paperwork, and Tony would arrange to meet them at the park. They were hoping to arrest him out in the open away from innocent bystanders, but if necessary, they would take him down on the street outside the row houses that they'd pretended was where Jessie resided. They were both armed, but preferred to arrest Mike and his goon somewhere less public. Fortunately, Macaluso was eager to get his hands on the Giullietta, and so he agreed to test drive the convertible to the park with Jess where her boyfriend hand over the bill of sale and relevant paperwork. They'd figured he wouldn't care about taking it for a test drive, but that he couldn't afford to reveal that he wasn't just another classic car nut, so he needed to play along.

Tony, dressed in motorcycle leathers and full faced helmet, tailed the mafia thug in Macaluso's car as well as Jessie and Mike in the Giullietta from a long way back. He'd borrowed some surveillance gear from the Fibbies and they both had coms and Jess was wired for both pictures and sound and the car was fitted with GPS tracking equipment just to be on the safe side. It had been unnecessary, though, and as Tony approached from the wrong direction, knowing that the FBI snipers had Jess under constant surveillance now they were in the park made his heart speed up, and he had to will himself to remain calm by taking lots of deep breaths.

Tony used the footpath to navigate through the park on his bike and started to work his way down through the gears until the last seconds when he accelerated hard and put the Kawasaki into a hard controlled skid. He deliberately crashed it into the hired muscle while he leapt swiftly off the bike and cuffed the thug to the handlebars of the Kawasaki even while his legs were still all tangled up with the bike. He turned on a dime and had his gun aimed at Macaluso, who was already staring down the barrel of Detective Sergeant Jessie Lawless' Glock, frozen in shock and also cuffed. Tony moved a few feet back and reached for his com to call in the FBI reinforcements to come and take the prisoners into custody. Taking off his helmet to wipe the sudden outpouring of sweat from his forehead now it was all over, the NCIS agent heard an animalistic snarl.

Then all hell broke loose as Macaluso, who'd instantly recognised Tony, tried to grab hold of Jessie's gun. It was obvious he wanted to avenge his downfall when Tony had wormed his way into the family and Tony was getting ready to take him down, when a shot rang out from one of the FBI sharpshooters and Macaluso went down with a neat hole in the middle of his head. Just like Cate, he thought inconsequentially. He gave himself a mental shake and rushed over to Jessie, hugging her, needing reassurance she was fine and needing comfort himself.

They watched as the scene swarmed with the FBI team that had accompanied Fornell, who appeared to congratulate them both, trying to swallow the big shit eating grin he was sporting.

"Damn it, I was hoping he wouldn't make a threat against either of you. I really wanted to drag his butt back to jail."

Yeah, Tobias, remind me not to let you sell ice to the Inuit's. You look real cut up about Mike's death, not! Tony rolled his eyes, but in truth he wasn't exactly distraught about the former Don's demise either.

"Anyway, well done both of you. When we get done with the procedural stuff, I'm taking you both out for dinner and I want to hear all about this sting of yours and how you came up with it."

Hours later over a cold beer, Tony noticed a familiar look in Fornell's eyes.

"They read you in on what happened back in Philly, didn't they?" he accused.

Fornell just nodded sadly. Tony pushed his chair back, not noticing that it tipped over as he strode off and disappeared out of the restaurant into the dark. Fornell looked across at Jessie.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset him. It stinks." The veteran agent wiped his hand over his lined face. "Should we go after him?"

Jessie shook her head emphatically. "No, Agent Fornell, he needs to be by himself for a while. This has been difficult for him. He's been undercover for the last ten years, but while he's gone there is something that I want you to do for him and me. Something else is going on with him and I'm guessing you might know something about it. He seems beaten, almost burnt out and I want him to come back to Boston with me and spend some time recovering. Tony didn't tell me much, but he did say he was on temporary secondment to the FBI while you caught Macaluso. Can you swing a month for him to come back home with me. He usually avoids contact because it's so painful for both of us, but we're together now and I think we both need to reconnect." She stared at him with her cobalt blue eyes pleading.

"I'll do my best, Detective Sergeant Lawless. I might not be able to swing a month, though I'll try my damndest. He's had a tough few years, but the last few months, well let's just say he deserves to spend some time with an ex-partner that cares about him so he can start to heal."

He stared at the cop, before deciding to ask. "Maybe now that Macaluso is dead, perhaps things can go back to the way they were."

Jessie stared at the FBI agent in shocked comprehension. "You were hoping for an excuse to take him down, weren't you?" She remembered that huge grin that he'd worn at the scene. "You were hoping that if he was dead that the threat would die, too. I hope you're right, Fornell, but ten years is a hell of a long time. Sometimes you can't go back, even if you want to. I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Her eyes conveyed a mixture of hope and gratitude and Tobias realised that this cop was a stunner. He decided to seek her out the next time he found himself in Boston and ask her for on a date.

Epilogue

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo leaned back in his desk chair and surveyed the comfortingly familiar yet absolutely appalling burnt orange colour of the bull pen, and heaved a sigh of relief to be home. He'd been back for a couple of days now, but he was still pinching himself that he was really on terra firma once more. After a month spent in Boston courtesy of Jessie and Fornell, no thanks to Vance, and a further two months aboard the USS Seahawk, he was finally reassigned to DC as senior field agent for Gibbs' MCRT again. It was heavenly to sleep in his own bed again with his own expensive bed linen.

"Hey, Tony, did you hear about Mike Macaluso?"

"No, what's that, Probie?" McGee performed an eye roll of epic proportions, not exactly happy to have that moniker resurrected. He'd been the unofficial leader down in the cyber-crimes basement after all.

"Mike Macaluso bribed some guards and escaped from prison. Lucky you were agent afloat at the time and safe cuz he swore he'd get even with you, didn't he, Tony?"

"Yeah, Probie, but you know what these dirtbags are like. Dumb as dirt and with a memory like Swiss cheese."

"That so, DiNozzo? Ya always said that the Family had a memory like an elephant and they never forget," Gibbs countered as he came round the corner.

"Um yeah, that's true, Boss, guess I'm lucky I was out at sea. So what happened, Probie, they caught him I hope?"

"Not exactly, Tony. The FBI arrested him and then he tried to take an agent's gun and they shot him right between the eyes."

Ziva jumped into the conversation, keen to join the fun. She'd missed being able to gang up on the juvenile agent and it had become a displacement behaviour since she was not allowed to kick the clap out of suspects. Americans were willy livered when it came to a little blood. Still, drawing metaphoric blood from DiNozzo was a satisfying diversion.

"At least you do not need to worry about him now, Tony. If you had been in DC, there is no doubt we would have had to save your mule."

"It ass not mule and really, Ziva, that's what you think?" Tony inquired, smiling strangely.

"Oh, yes, Tony." Ziva smirked in her oh so superior I'm a Mossad super spy manner, while McGee and Gibbs looked equally smug. "You are always lending trouble."

"You're probably right, Ziva. I'll remember to scream for you the next time trained assassins have me tied to a chair, beating me senseless and threatening to kill me with really sharp knives. And I'll be sure to call you, Probie, when I inadvertently turn the key on a car bomb so you can come and hold the key steady for me and I can run to safety before it goes off. Then of course, when I drive off a wharf with a civilian in the car to get away from gun toting dirtbags trying to give me extra orifices, I'll cry for Gibbs to take care of the kidnappers and then drag our mules out of the river and perform CPR. No way could I save my own worthless six. So glad we had this talk guys, I feel so much better." Tony started to laugh uncontrollably.

His team had the grace to squirm somewhat at the reminder of his competence and courage. It was easy to forget just how capable the senior field agent truly was because he didn't make a habit of throwing it in their faces.

"Touché DiNozzo, let's not forget getting thrown outta a plane, or chained to a serial killer or saving a half dead Marine from a crazed killer either," Gibbs added dryly.

Tony smiled as he leaned back in his chair. It was good to be home, even if his team mates would never see him for who he really was.

Spoiler Warning  
FOUR MONTHS LATER [Preview to the sequel: RISING TO THE BAIT]

Tony sat at his desk working on a cold case, since the last few days had been quiet ones for the MCRT. No bodies had turned up, no reports of assaults, terrorism or embezzlement had crossed their desks, and so the pile of cold cases were getting some much needed attention. Tony felt that closing a cold case, while difficult and unglamorous, was incredibly rewarding nonetheless. Helping families who were still waiting for closure was something he felt strongly about. 

Sometimes to simply have the comfort of knowing for sure that a loved one didn't come home because they couldn't, not because they decided to leave, meant everything to a victim's family and friends. For others, it was the freedom of knowing that their loved one's killer was not still out there preying on other innocent victims, even if their incarceration would never bring back the victims. It wasn't much, but to the families it was still a freedom of sorts.

Focusing intensely on the file in front of him, the phone ringing on his desk startled him and he picked it up distractedly.

"Yeah, Tobias, what can I do for you? When? Oh, God, I'll be right there."

He was already on his feet, grabbing his phone, wallet, badge and gun as he tossed over his shoulder. "Have to go, Gibbs. Old friend has been injured in an accident and they need me. I'll call as soon as I know how long I'll be gone," and he was gone before anyone had a chance to say anything. Once in the elevator, he collapsed against the wall in despair, pulling out his phone and dialling a number that had become second nature to him after the last few months.  
"Jessie, Tia's coming. I need you, can you come?"

End notes: The next instalment of this story is called Rising to the Bait and a multi-chaptered work. Hope you enjoyed part one and look forward to you joining me for the next story.


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